The
Hill of Uisneach is located on the road to Ballymore, about
nine miles west of Mullingar. Its summit is just over 600
feet above sea level and has a central place, historically,
geographically and metaphorically in the annals of Ireland.

On a clear day it is reckoned twenty counties are visible
from its summit. One of Daniel O Connells monster
meetings in support of Catholic Emancipation is reputed
to have been held here and some locals claim to have seen
the round tower in Glasnevin Cemetery which covers his grave
from the hill.

It ranks alongside Tara in terms of importance and had a
sacred ash tree associated with the inauguration of the
High Kings. It was the home of the Fire Druids and hosted
a major celebration of Bealtaine (May Day) in times past.

Traditionally Uisneach was the epicentre of Ireland where
the five provinces met. It consists of a complex set of
monuments spread over two square kilometres and has received
little attention since it was excavated in the 1920s. It
includes enclosures and barrows (ancient burial mounds),
a megalithic tomb and two ancient roads.

There is evidence of occupation of the site from Neolithic
to medieval times. Ail na Mireann, the Stone of Divisions,
is regarded as the burial place of the Mother Goddess Eri
, who is symbolically enabled to see the whole of her land
and people when the Druidic fires are lit at Bealtaine.

Uisneach is the sacred site of the ancient goddess, Eri
, from which Ireland gets her name, ire. Regarded as the
spiritual and physical centre of Ireland. In ancient times
the land was seen as the embodiment of the goddess; the
rocks were her bones, the earth her flesh and the rivers
her veins.
An annual festival was held in her honour at Bealtaine,
a renewal of community. According to tradition all the fires
in Ireland were extinguished on that evening and two great
bonfires were lit on top of the sacred hill as a beacon,
a symbol of Eris eyes looking out over the horizons
encompassing all that lived on her.

The fires were seen as a centralising spiritual force that
ensured the return of summer and the fruitfulness and harmony
of the land and people. From the central beacon fires were
lit on surrounding peaks visible from Uisneach and in turn
fires were lit until the entire country was covered in a
web of fires.

Geoffrey Keating, author of the first narrative history
of Ireland completed in 1634, wrote of the Fair of Uisneach:
This fair, or assembly, was held on the first day of the
month of May, and they were wont to exchange or barter their
cattle and other property there. They were also accustomed
to make offerings to their chief god which they worshipped,
named Bel; and it was a custom with them to make two fires
in honour of this Bel in every cantred of Ireland, and to
drive a couple of every kind of cattle in the cantred between
the two fires as a preservative.

On June 21, 2001 there was a special ceremony at the Hill
of Uisneach to celebrate the Sixth Annual World Peace and
Prayer Day as well as the Summer Solstice. The attendance
included actor John Hurt, singer Liam Maonla and journalist
and writer Paolo Truili. Present also were a group of native
Americans, led by Chief Avrol Looking Horse, who invited
representatives of all faiths throughout the global community
to unite and participate in an effort to bring about a positive
shift of consciousness by connecting with the earth s sacred
sites on the day of the Summer Solstice.

Legend has it that the Firbolg came to Uisneach in Neolithic
times and divided Ireland from there. The large stone on
the side of the hill is known as The Stone of Divisions,
Ail na Mireann. This craggy lump of limestone in also known
as the Catstone as it resembles a squatting cat ready to
pounce on a mouse. This stone is said to be at the exact
centre of Ireland and the boundary lines of the provinces
were said to meet here.

The writings of the historian Ptolemy of Alexandria suggest
that Uisneach predated Tara as a royal residence. In his
notes on Ireland he fixes the position of the capital cities
of each of the five Irish kingdoms by giving longitude and
latitude figures for each of them. Tara is not included
which suggests that it was not the seat of a king in 82AD
when Ptolemy compiled his notes on Ireland.

The capital of North Leinster was a place which Ptolemy
called Raiba or Riba. The co-ordinates given suggest that
Raiba was his name for Uisneach.

In considering why Uisneach was chosen as a royal residence
there are a number of factors to be considered. Along with
Tara and Tlachtgha it was one of the sacred hills of Leinster
and ranked above them because if was regarded as the epicentre
of Ireland.

The druid of the sons of Neimheadh, who invaded Ireland
in pre-Celtic times are reputed to have lit the first fire
in Ireland at Uisneach and in return the sons of Neimheadh
bestowed on the druid a tuath of land, which was henceforth
called Meath.

The story has little historical credence but seems to have
been invented to explain the importance of the site. The
name Meath is derived from the Latin word media (middle)
emphasises the importance of centrality.

Centrality plays a large part in other cultures. At the
time of Julius Caesar the druids of Gaul (modern France)
met in the territory of Carnutes, which was regarded as
the centre of Gaul.
There is also a political reason behind the choice of Uisneach
as a royal residence. Most foreign invaders would enter
the country via the rivers of Leinster and work their way
up the river valleys. Following this line of argument the
last part of the province to be conquered would be the area
in the midlands east of the River Shannon.

It is possible the King of Leinster established a garrison
at this elevated site and when the province was divided
into two kingdoms, Uisneach was a natural choice for a royal
residence.
The Division of Leinster upset the balance of power in Ireland.
Prior to this there were three great evenly matched powers;
Ulster, Connacht and Leinster. The division of the latter
left just two and Connacht sought to encircle Ulster and
bring about its downfall and clear the way for a Connacht
hegemony over the whole of Ireland.

In the reign of Tuathal Teachtmhar in the latter part of
the first century AD, Uisneach was annexed by Connacht and
was still a possession of the western province at the time
of St. Patrick. Rather than provoke the other provinces,
Tuathal used an internal rebellion in North Leinster as
pretext for occupying Uisneach. Thus he was able to establish
a bridgehead east of the Shannon and begin the encirclement
of Ulster.

As a result the King of North Leinster was forced to look
around for a new residence and choose Tara, the second most
sacred hill in north Leinster, which began to assume greater
importance when Cormac, great-great-grandson of Tuathal
seized it in the latter part of the third century.

The Connacht presence remained at Uisneach for nearly four
hundred years until the end of the fifth century. Realising
that the garrison there could not cope with the expanding
kingdom of Tara it was abandoned by the westerners.